I did the steps you mentioned, thanks. And after it says Loading blocks
I get this error, then it shuts down.
http://prntscr.com/vznvx8 [...]
Is there any other way to extract the public key from it and then look up transactions on that?
1st thing to do is copy (backup) that original wallet.dat to several places. do NOT post or send that wallet.dat to anyone. if you get private messages offering to"help" you IGNORE them.
then post here in the tech support section as it will have more people who know the software.
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=4.0i believe that there are ways to find if theres any balance without downloading the whole blockchain, probably some console command. but DO NOT run any random commands until several others have OKed those commands.